


By Any Other Name

by TrekFaerie



Category: Tin Man (2007)
Genre: M/M, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-21
Updated: 2013-01-21
Packaged: 2017-11-26 09:27:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 655
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/649098
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TrekFaerie/pseuds/TrekFaerie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For the nearly five annuals Cain had known him, Glitch, despite his flakiness on everything else, had always remained rather consistent on his use of names.</p>
            </blockquote>





	By Any Other Name

“Wyatt, could you help me with this?”

Cain nearly dropped his coffee mug in shock. He froze, his face completely impassive as his thoughts raced like quicksilver. It was nothing, he tried to tell himself. Nothing at all. And, yet, he knew that it was something. Something silly, something insignificant, but still something.

For the nearly five annuals Cain had known him, Glitch, despite his flakiness on everything else, had always remained rather consistent on his use of names. DG was always DG; Azkadellia was always Azkadellia, though sometimes the man, due to some sort of nostalgic affection, would teasingly call her Azkadee; the Queen was always the Queen, unless they were in private and Glitch had imbibed more than a few glasses of wine, in which she magically transformed into Della again. Cain had always been Cain. Except, now he was Wyatt.

Cain had always, in a way, understood Glitch’s almost reluctance towards using given names. After all, he did it as well. (‘Have I ever called the kid by her real name?’) A given name was something personal, something... intimate, something to be used between people who were close in more ways than one. It was something to be earned. Apparently, in Glitch’s eyes, he had earned it.

What did it mean? It was an odd thing, really, for Glitch to transition from using one name to the other so quickly. Even Adora (the only other person, besides his parents, who Cain could remember using his given name) had done it slowly, over a longer period of time. She hadn’t gone from “Cain, what’re you doing for lunch today? Can I come, too?” to “Wyatt, are you listening to me? I really do need your help with this...” over the course of one day!

... Oh. Cain had been so wrapped up in his thoughts, he hadn’t even noticed Glitch’s hand waving rapidly in front of his face. “What’s wrong, Glitch?” he asked. It struck him, rather suddenly, that he referred to Glitch by his “given” name, albeit in a rather abstract way. He wondered if it meant anything for him. He wondered if it meant anything at all.

Frowning, Glitch revealed a colorfully wrapped gift, an equally as colorful ribbon hanging limply off the sides of it. “This one is nearly impossible to do without another person. If you could just put your finger there... No, not there... Perfect. Now, hold it for a few seconds... Perfect! Thanks!” He smiled, proud of his work.

“What’s it for, anyway?”

Glitch’s face fell, but it quickly twisted itself back up into a smirk. “You don’t remember?” he asked. “And they call me scatterbrained!”

‘Who calls you scatterbrained? I’ll take care of them.’ After careful consideration, he said, “I’ve been busy lately. What’s it for?”

“I just can’t believe that you’d be busy enough to forget DG’s birthday party!”

He looked away sheepishly. “Oh, right. That’s today, isn’t it?”

Glitch sniffed dramatically, turning away slightly. “Our little girl is turning twenty-five, and you forgot all about it. I’m ashamed of you--”

“ _I’m sorry_.”

Glitch faced him, eyes widened and confused by the earnestness, the sincerity, of his voice. “It’s... It’s all right,” he said softly. Finally, he just shrugged. “I’ll just write both of our names on it. No harm done.”

“You’re going to say that it’s from us?” Before he could stop himself, Cain grinned. He was thinking about a yellow ribbon, but it wasn’t the one on DG’s gift. He was pleasantly surprised (or was it completely mortified) to find that it didn’t hurt as much as it used to.

Still rather confused, Glitch shyly returned his grin. “Yes, I am. Oh, and if she asks, it’s a new mirror for her motorcycle... And if she asks, you’re the one who broke her old one.”

Cain didn’t resist the temptation to wrap an arm around Glitch’s shoulders as they walked, together, to the party.


End file.
